St George was a patron saint of the Angevins who ended up becoming kings of England in the C12th, later to be known as the Plantagenets after Geoffrey of Anjou's habit of wearing a sprig of broom in his hat (plants genesta).
The cross formed part of their personal arms and eventually the signal part of their battle banners.
Am I alone in really not giving a hoot about St George's day? don't have anything against it, just haven't ever been able to get myself particularly excited for it.
However they did get it right and exclude Lenny Henry
I think they put the list together before his greatest work , that Premier Inn advert.
From Wiki:-
Genoese origin
Some historians[who?] believe that the St George's Cross was adopted from the flag of Genoa, which dates back to 1096.[citation needed] The Genoese flag was adopted from the personal flag of St. Ambrose, the 4th century Bishop of Milan who was a key figure in the development of Christianity in the West. St. Ambrose's cross had become a symbol of Milan, then the wider areas of Northern Italy.[citation needed] (Because it was a common symbol in the region, it was the flag of the Lombard League, a coalition of city states including both Milan and Genoa that opposed Frederick Barbarossa in the 12th and 13th Century.) Genoa's patron saint was St. George, and its vast trading fleet carried the association between the flag and the Saint across the ports of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea.
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, supports this theory:
"The St. George's flag, a red cross on a white field, was adopted by England and the City of London in 1190 for their ships entering the Mediterranean to benefit from the protection of the Geonoese fleet. The English Monarch paid an annual tribute to the Doge of Genoa for this privilege."[3]
I wonder how Phil Lynott and Paul McGrath would relish being called Britons
mrmmoofo
The idea for 100 Great Black Britons was based on the BBC TV series 100 Great Britons which included Bono and Bob Geldof.
Paul McGrath looked pretty chuffed actually when I saw him at an artexhibition opening event depicting black people in art throughout the ages sponsored by the PFA and the 100 Black Britons organisers.
I cannot comment on what Phil Lynott thought.
I thought he was Jordanian...Pigface
Greek wasn't he?
I wonder how many dragon believers are posting today. It's all a load of cobblers anyway but today it's the english version.I wonder how many Aethists are posting up here today?
So happy Georges day I guess.
I wonder how many dragon believers are posting today
😈 Are you saying dragons aren't real?
The idea for 100 Great Black Britons was based on the BBC TV series 100 Great Britons which included Bono and Bob Geldof.
Paul McGrath looked pretty chuffed actually when I saw him at an artexhibition opening event depicting black people in art throughout the ages sponsored by the PFA and the 100 Black Britons organisers.
I cannot comment on what Phil Lynott thought.
Ah, ok...
Bod Geldof!! He makes Lenny look talented ...
Bono is a personal thing - but preaching about solving world poverty, whilst creaming it in via tax havens does not make one "great"
St David was Welsh though
Indeed. Pity about that dragon of yours though 😆
Ah, ok...
Bod Geldof!! He makes Lenny look talented ...
Yeah, he's done nothing of note.
Pity about that dragon of yours though
Even in the story that was never actually real, so we're in the clear 🙂
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8114/8675324224_5ce62245f6_c.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/leecollis/8675324224/ ]Untitled[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/leecollis/ ]Lee Collis[/url], on Flickr
"There is a forgotten, nay almost forbidden word, which means more to me than any other. That word is England."
- Winston Churchill
Happy Saint George's Day in England.
if you have a young's pub nearby get on their mailing list and score yourself a free pint of bombardier or bitter. if you really want. it is free i suppose.
I don't do flag-waving.
I'm an Englishman. 😉
deluded - Member
"There is a forgotten, nay almost forbidden word, which means more to me than any other. That word is England."- Winston Churchill
Happy Saint George's Day in England.
Here, here.
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A selection of England's 'finest' 😆
HAPPY St George's Day!
Our neighbour flies the flag from his house for the day every year. A true Patriot (NOT a football idiot).
Interesting site - I wonder how Phil Lynott and Paul McGrath would relish being called Britons
i doubt that paul mcgrath would mind at all.
he was born in london.
and he is god.
There was a lovely photo of the south-west of England posted up on Fb today by Col Chris Hadfield on the ISS, to wish us a happy St George's Day.
Which was nice, as he's Canadian.
Happy St George's Day, anyway, although I'd prefer it if St Aldhelm was chosen instead; he, at least, was a genuine Englishman, and was Abbot of Malmesbury Abbey for a time, and was quite the renaissance man.
Faint hope of that, though...
